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Katie Kazan, Director of Public Information 608.257.0158 x 237 or katie@mmoca.orgHigh-resolution images are available upon request

“American Masterpieces” Grant from National Endowment for the Arts

Madison Museum of Contemporary Art Awarded“American Masterpieces” Grant from National Endowment for the Arts

MADISON, WI – The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) has announced an $80,000 grant to support the upcoming exhibition George Segal: Street Scenes, organized by the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art (MMoCA). The award is one of thirteen NEA “American Masterpieces” grants recommended by the National Council on the Arts in the category of Visual Arts Touring Exhibitions. George Segal: Street Scenes will premier in Madison from September 13 to December 28, 2008, before traveling to additional venues.

George Segal (1924-2000) is widely recognized as one of the great American sculptors. George Segal: Street Scenes will present sixteen of his sculptural works: two bronzes and fourteen works in plaster. Most show life-size men and women, and focus on human interactions and everyday events in urban settings. The exhibition includes works from the 1960s, when Segal first began using plaster, to the 1980s and 1990s, as he documented the effects of economic change on urban environments. The exhibition will also feature approximately twenty black-and-white photographs by Segal's long-time friend Donald Lokuta; the photos depict Segal working on his sculptures or document his sources of inspiration in the urban environment.

The exhibition is being organized with the cooperation of The George and Helen Segal Foundation, which is loaning ten sculptures to the exhibition. Artworks are also being loaned by major museums across the United States.

After opening at MMoCA, George Segal: Street Scenes will travel to additional venues including the Nasher Sculpture Center, Dallas, Texas, and the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City, Missouri.

The exhibition is being organized by Stephen Fleischman director of the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art; and Jane Simon, MMoCA curator of exhibitions. A richly illustrated exhibition catalogue will include essays by Fleischman and Simon, and by Martin Friedman, a close friend of Segal and the former director of the Walker Art Center.

The National Endowment for the Arts is a public agency dedicated to supporting excellence in the arts, both new and established; bringing the arts to all Americans; and providing leadership in arts education. Established by Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government, the Arts Endowment is the largest annual national funder of the arts, bringing great art to all 50 states, including rural areas, inner cities, and military bases.

American Masterpieces: Three Centuries of Artistic Genius is a major National Endowment for the Arts initiative to acquaint Americans with the best of their cultural and artistic legacy. Through American Masterpieces, the NEA sponsors performances, exhibitions, tours, and educational programs across different art forms that reach large and small communities in all 50 states. American Masterpieces grants announced in this round will support 89 projects in the categories of chamber music, presenting, and visual arts touring for a federal investment of $2,760,000.

Admission to exhibitions at the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art is free of charge. MMoCA is supported through memberships and through generous contributions and grants from individuals, corporations, agencies, and foundations. Important support is also generated through auxiliary group programs; special events; rental of the museum's lobby, lecture hall, and rooftop garden; and sales through the Museum Store.